A street elbow (sometimes called a street ell or service ell) is a type of

plumbing Plumbing is any system that conveys fluids for a wide range of applications. Plumbing uses pipes, valves, plumbing fixtures, tanks, and other apparatuses to convey fluids. Heating and cooling (HVAC), waste removal, and potable water delive ...

piping Within industry, piping is a system of pipes used to convey fluids ( liquids and gases) from one location to another. The engineering discipline of piping design studies the efficient transport of fluid. Industrial process piping (and accom ...

fitting intended to join a piece of

pipe Pipe(s), PIPE(S) or piping may refer to: Objects * Pipe (fluid conveyance), a hollow cylinder following certain dimension rules ** Piping, the use of pipes in industry * Smoking pipe ** Tobacco pipe * Half-pipe and quarter pipe, semi-circul ...

and another fitting at an

angle In Euclidean geometry, an angle is the figure formed by two rays, called the '' sides'' of the angle, sharing a common endpoint, called the '' vertex'' of the angle. Angles formed by two rays lie in the plane that contains the rays. Angles ...

. The difference between a street elbow and a regular

elbow The elbow is the region between the arm and the forearm that surrounds the elbow joint. The elbow includes prominent landmarks such as the olecranon, the cubital fossa (also called the chelidon, or the elbow pit), and the lateral and the m ...

is the

gender Gender is the range of characteristics pertaining to femininity and masculinity and differentiating between them. Depending on the context, this may include sex-based social structures (i.e. gender roles) and gender identity. Most cultures ...

of its two connections. A regular elbow has a hub or female-threaded connection on each end, so it can join two male pipes. Instead, a street elbow has a female fitting on one end and a male fitting on the other. The advantage of the street elbow is that it can be connected directly to another fitting without having to use an additional short connecting piece (a pipe nipple).

Applications

Street elbows are available with bend angles of 90°, 45°, and 22.5°. They can be used in many plumbing applications, including water supply, drainage, sewers, vents, central vacuum systems,

compressed air Compressed air is air kept under a pressure that is greater than atmospheric pressure. Compressed air is an important medium for transfer of energy in industrial processes, and is used for power tools such as air hammers, drills, wrenches, and ...

and gas lines, heating and air conditioning, sump pump drains, and other locations where plumbing fittings would be used to join sections of pipe.

Plumbing code A plumbing code is a code that provides regulations for the design, installation and inspection of building plumbing and sanitary systems. In the United States, jurisdictions enact their own codes, some of which are based upon model plumbing codes. ...

s regulate the use of street elbows. For example, Canada's national plumbing code prohibits them in natural gas and propane installations:{{cite web, url=http://www.tagengineering.ca/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/B149-1handbook.pdf#page=75, title=B149.1HB-00 Natural Gas and Propane Installation Code Handbook, date=February 2000, at=sec. 5.14.7, publisher= CSA International, accessdate=2019-05-12

Street elbows and tees are not permitted because these fittings have both male and female threaded ends. This makes alignment of the piping difficult since the direction of the piping does not always correspond with the fully seated position of the fitting. When the connection is backed off to align the piping, leakage may result.

References

Plumbing

Applications

See also

References